thoughts from a freelance editor on self-editing, writing, and reviewing Christian fiction... with a little bit of life thrown in

Monday, July 28, 2014

Verse of the Day

Notice the "do not fret" phrase—three times in eight verses. When the Lord repeats something, we need to pay attention and obey.

Do not fret. . . . Trust in the
Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight
yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit
your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. . . . Rest in the
Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret. . . . Cease from anger and
forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. Psalm 37:1–8

Dr. David Jeremiah, in What Are You Afraid Of?, says: "The English word fret comes from the Old English fretan, meaning "to devour, to eat, to gnaw into something." The Hebrew word David used is charah, which has at its root the idea of "growing warm" and "blazing up." . . .

"In the first metaphor, fretting is seen as a rat inside your soul, gnawing away at your joy and peace. . . .

"The fire metaphor pictures Satan as the arsonist of hellfire, setting blazes of distress inside your heart. Both pictures illustrate the destructiveness of fretting. . . . Fretting will kill you from the inside out."